(The TTD issued the following news release on April 10.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Citing potential threats to safety and security and lax government oversight, the AFL-CIO and its Transportation Trades Department (TTD) today petitioned the Bush administration for an immediate suspension of repair work performed on U.S. aircraft at overseas maintenance facilities. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and TTD President Sonny Hall called for emergency federal action to stop repair of U.S. aircraft at FAA-certified facilities overseas until thorough risk assessments are conducted and appropriate rules are implemented.
“At a time when airlines face intense pressure to slash costs and cut corners, sending repair work to other countries is a far too tempting way for cash-strapped air carriers to choose profits over safety and security,” Hall said. “Inaction by this Administration in the face of these serious concerns is unacceptable.”
While no “publicly known” evidence exists about terrorist threats at foreign maintenance sites, the petition says, “it makes little sense for the Bush Administration to leave it to chance.”
As the State Department has repeatedly warned of threats to U.S. interests abroad, the AFL-CIO and its mechanics unions – the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Transport Workers Union – have grown increasingly concerned about aircraft maintenance being performed overseas. The fact is that a foreign station can receive an FAA certification to work on U.S. aircraft without meeting the same safety and security standards as their domestic counterparts. For example, workers at foreign facilities are not required to undergo drug and alcohol tests, the training and certification standards at these stations are inadequate, and FAA inspectors have dramatically less access to foreign repair stations, particularly in making the unannounced safety audits which are common in the U.S.
The Trumka-Hall letter, sent to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, and TSA Under Secretary for Security James Loy, emphasizes that “a unique confluence of factors” creates “a situation that necessitates federal government action in the public interest and to maintain aviation safety,” and urges the government to use the review period in which foreign repair is suspended to develop new rules to strengthen the safety and security precautions governing this work.
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org